Ramsey leads Indiana to 34-17 win at Virginia

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Indiana's Ramsey plays lights out to defeat Virginia on the road

Dave Weekly and John Gregory give credit to Indiana QB Peyton Ramsey for coming in off the bench and leading the Hoosiers to a 34-17 victory over the Cavaliers.

Updated: Sep 10, 2017, 02:18 am

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Indiana's redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Ramsey was scheduled to play a little against Virginia on Saturday. But when senior Richard Lagow, who threw for 420 yards on a school-record 65 attempts against Ohio State last week, started 3 for 10 with an interception against the Cavaliers, Ramsey entered in the second quarter and never left.

Ramsey completed 16 of 20 passes -- including his first 11 -- for 173 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hoosiers to a 34-17 victory over Virginia at Scott Stadium. Ramsey also ran for a 26-yard touchdown.

"He was moving the team, so we just said, `Hey, roll with it," Indiana's first-year coach, Tom Allen, said. "Hey, you've got two quarterbacks, that's a great thing. Richard's the starting quarterback, but you've got to compete."

Virginia (1-1) again struggled to run the ball until it was forced by its deficit to throw 66 times. The Hoosiers (1-1) held the Cavaliers to 55 yards on 25 rushing attempts, a week after Virginia gained only 92 yards against FCS opponent William and Mary.

After A.J. Mejia's 22-yard field goal put Virginia up 3-0 in the second quarter, Indiana scored three times in the final 6:30 of the half behind Ramsey for a 17-3 lead.

Ramsey led a six-play, 59-yard touchdown drive to send Indiana ahead for good. Simmie Cobbs scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass, J-Shun Harris' 43-yard punt return set up Ramsey's 26-yard touchdown run, and Griffin Oakes closed the half with a 51-yard field goal, his school-record 54th. Oakes added a 48-yard field goal in the third quarter.

"The game really just slowed down for me and I just had fun, that's really what it came down to," said Ramsey, who gained 42 rushing yards on 12 carries. "I go out every week and practice like I'm going to be the starter. Rich is obviously the starter, but we battle every day and make each other better."

The Cavaliers opened the second half with a 12-yard touchdown run by Jordan Ellis, Virginia's longest run of the day. They got no closer, and Harris put the game out of reach by returning a punt 44 yards for a touchdown with just under six minutes left.

"We just hadn't seen (Ramsey) much," Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said. "With the productivity of their starter against Ohio State, the thought that we had to prepare for number two in the second quarter means that we were playing really good defense."

THE TAKEAWAY

Indiana: The Hoosiers' special teams dominated Virginia and shifted the field to their advantage numerous times. Punter Haydon Whitehead averaged 43.4 yards on seven punts, four of which pinned the Cavaliers' inside their 20. And Harris, a redshirt junior who hasn't returned punts since 2014, returned five for 109 yards and his first career touchdown.

Virginia: Quarterback Kurt Benkert finished his busy day with 259 yards passing and a touchdown with no interceptions. Olamide Zaccheaus caught 12 of Benkert's passes, but only for 72 yards. Virginia has completed only one pass for more than 26 yards in 105 attempts so far this season.

GOOCH EJECTED

Indiana's defensive end Greg Gooch was penalized for targeting during a strip sack of Benkert that Robert McCray returned 72 yards for an apparent fourth-quarter touchdown. But after a video review, Gooch was flagged and ejected. He will have to sit out the first half of next week's game against Florida International.

EMOTIONAL WEEK

Allen captured his first victory as a head coach and briefly broke down when he dedicated the victory to his father, who had open-heart surgery last Tuesday. "He's my hero, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him," Allen said. "Just a lot of emotion this week, a lot of things going on."

UP NEXT

Indiana: Plays host to Florida International of Conference USA. FIU is coached by former University of Miami and Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis.

Virginia: Meets Connecticut in Charlottesville. The Huskies beat the Cavaliers 13-10 last year in East Hartford.

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